Still only 21 years of age, Bellerin is fast closing in on 100 competitive appearances at club level, and already has three senior caps for his country.

Things could have been so different, though, had he not embraced the vision laid out for him at Emirates Stadium.

“It’s true, when I was at Barcelona I played as a winger,” Bellerin told Sport magazine.

“It was only in my last one or two years there that I played a few games at right-back – not more than five.

“But at one of them there was an Arsenal scout and they said: ‘Okay, this guy has to be a right-back.’ When Arsenal told me at the beginning, I was a bit frustrated – you know, thinking I like to be an attacker.

It should therefore come as no surprise to find that Bellerin has shown himself to be the most productive defender in the Premier League over the last 18 months, with his wing play still very much on point.